Alan Duncan fulfilled his dream of taking part in the event, with the Scottish leg setting off from Paisley Abbey, waved off by Paddy Hopkirk who was the last British winner of the rally 50 years ago. Around 80 cars left with 14 going all the way to Monte Carlo. Alan and his wife Catherine, from Kirkintilloch, travelled in their 1974 Toyota Celica. Alan said: “It was a great adventure. However, it was a lot harder than you think. At the most we did 12 hours driving a day and eight at the least. “The weather was mixed and when we got to Monaco we expected it to be sunny, but it was torrential rain. Coming back it was heavy snow blizzards. “Catherine did a wee bit of driving and was a very good navigator. The minute you got there, you jumped out the car with your fist in the air to say you made it.” And the car held up against the weather and the marathon journey there and back. Alan added: “It went very well the whole way there and got back okay. “I’m glad I did it. The wife is still talking to me. I asked if she wanted to do it next year, but she said maybe the year after.”
